Friday, June 1, 2012

Baingan Bharta

Baingan Bharta is one of the most famous and delicious dish made out of Brinjal. This is a Punjabi cuisine , of course now made around the world with numerous variations. My introduction to this dish is in a hotel in Australia. I never tasted this before and one of my friends ordered the dish as a side dish for biryani and roti. It tasted great , but then it was very very oily there. So that prompted me to try the dish at home and I loved it. This can be made out of brinjal of any kind and size. The smoky flavor of the brinjal with the tomatoes gives the dish a yummy taste and great color. This is my favorite side dish with Dum Biryani..

Ingredients :

Brinjal : 1 large

Onions : 2 (finely chopped)

Tomatoes : 3 (finely chopped)

Green peas : 1/2 cup(boiled)

Ginger- garlic paste : 1 tblspn

Green chillies : 3 (finely chopped )

Asefoetida : a pinch

Coriander powder : 1/2 tblspn

Garam masala powder : 1/2 tspn

Cumin powder : 1/2 tspn

salt : as required

Chilli powder : 1/2 tblspn

Curd : 1/4 cup

Sugar : 1 tspn

Oil : 3 tblspn

Cumin seeds : 1 tblspn

Coriander Leaves : 2 tblspn

Turmeric : a pinch

Lemon juice : 1/2 tspn

Procedure:

Apply oil all over brinjal , and fry it on the direct flame or put it in the griller for 30 mins on a high flame.

Once done , peel the skin , remove the stem and remove any excess seeds. Chop the brinjal finely.

Add ginger-garlic paste, fry for a minute and add the chopped onions and green chillies. Let them fry for 2 mins and then add turmeric , coriander powder , cumin powder , mix well and fry for a minute.

Add the tomatoes , chilli powder , salt and cook closing the lid until the tomatoes become soft.

Add little water if required. Once the tomatoes are cooked add the chopped brinjal , peas ,sugar , little water and let it cook for 5 mins until the gravy become thick.

Finally add lemon juice , mix well and then add the curd and garnish with coriander leaves.